Description: The author, head of Alternatives Investment Specialists at Fortis Investments, recently presented a research paper on the potential benefits and possible pitfalls of investing in illiquid assets. This newsletter provides a brief summary of that paper. The full paper is available upon request.

Description: Feature article discussing the newly developed Build America Bonds BABs.

Description: Is Risk/Return a sound tool for decision-making? No. It is not consistent, not objective, distorts decision and degrades governance. Why? What shall we do then?

Description: This article presents new funding instruments for equity-indexed life insurance and annuity products.

Description: This session from the 1984 SOA New York City Meeting discusses the investment implications of an aging population including the affect on the national savings rate, economic growth, the dependence on social security and opportunities for the insurance industry. From Record of the Society of Actuaries Vol. 10, No. 3

Description: This session at the SOA 2001 Annual Meeting looks at issues associated with historically low interest rates from the perspectives of new product development, an investment professional and a corporate view. Included is a discussion of alternative investments ane their risk/return trade offs.

Description: This panel discussion presented at the April 1976 SOA meeting in Washington D.C. presents opinions and information related to investment policy in a changing economy.

Description: This discussion focuses on the changing pattern of life insurance investing into public utilities, railroads, real estate, mortgages, corporate bonds and common and preferred stocks. This session also looks at the importance of the investment department, the impact on policyholder earnings, direct placement investing and a history of stock market performance since 1918. From Transactions of Society of Actuaries 1959, Vol. 11, No. 29 AB.

Description: ETFs have seen explosive growth in the past decade. Due to its flexibility and embedded risk management features, insurance companies and pension funds, are showing increasing interest in this asset class. This session covers an introduction to ETFs and the risk/rewards for insurance companies and pension funds as an additional asset class.

Description: The Society of Actuaries’ Pension Section Research Committee commissioned this study to help actuaries develop forward thinking long-term estimates of future equity risk premiums. Equity risk premium is the amount by which the total return of a stock market index, such as the S&P 500, exceeds that of government bonds. Equity risk premiums, calculated from historical data, have been used to project long term values of equity portfolios in retirement plans. The validity of using historical data to project future equity returns will be examined along with other forward looking methods.